\n<\/p>\n
Good morning. Yesterday, I was shocked to read that nearly half of sexually active under-18s have either been strangled or strangled someone during sex.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoking\u201d, as it is known, has become normalised in young people\u2019s sexual habits. A study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, part of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, published on Tuesday, found that 43% of under-18s had experienced the practice, despite much evidence of the dangers it can cause.<\/p>\n
This extremely harmful practice is causing much distress among those on the receiving end, with 36% saying they felt scared during the experience and 21% suffering dangerous physical symptoms, including dizziness and even loss of consciousness.<\/p>\n
To understand how strangulation became so rife and what may be behind the rise, for today\u2019s newsletter I spoke to Anna Moore<\/strong><\/em>, who has written extensively on the topic for the Guardian, and Clare McGlynn<\/strong><\/em>, a professor of law at Durham University and author of the forthcoming Exposed: The Rise of Extreme Porn and How We Fight Back. First, this morning\u2019s headlines.<\/p>\n Politics<\/strong><\/em> | Nigel Farage is facing fresh claims of racism and antisemitism while he was at school, with a Bafta-winning director among those making accusations against him. The Reform UK leader denies the allegations.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Technology<\/strong><\/em> | A key piece of the internet\u2019s usually hidden infrastructure suffered a global outage on Tuesday. Cloudflare, whose services include defending millions of websites against malicious attacks, experienced an unidentified problem that meant internet users could not access some websites.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Health<\/strong><\/em> | The NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan despite billions of pounds in investment, the public accounts committee has warned.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Home Office<\/strong><\/em> | Shabana Mahmood is facing demands for compassion and clarity after it emerged that only a \u201cfew hundred\u201d asylum seekers would initially be permitted to come to the UK under three new schemes for refugees.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Espionage<\/strong><\/em> | MI5 has issued an espionage alert to MPs and peers warning that two people linked to the Chinese intelligence service are actively seeking to recruit parliamentarians through LinkedIn.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/span>The internet has expanded the type and availability of pornography, and allowed more young people to access it. <\/span> Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance\/Alamy<\/p>\n We know there is no escaping the type and availability of pornography the internet has delivered. Yet it is still shocking to read almost half of sexually active teenagers are experiencing an extreme act like strangulation during sex.<\/p>\n It\u2019s even more disturbing to read of the fear and distress of those who experience it \u2013 quite apart from the more dangerous physical effects they reported, including neck pain, dizziness and coughing. One in 50 of those surveyed reported losing consciousness, control of their bladders or, for one in 100, losing control of their bowels.<\/p>\n According to one stark piece of research, non-fatal strangulation (NFS) poses a greater risk than the torture known as waterboarding, as strangulation affects blood and air flow. Practised regularly, particularly among young people whose brains are still developing, it can cause long-term damage akin to repeated concussion in sport.<\/p>\n All this points to an urgent need to understand the prevalence and normalisation of sexual strangulation, and mitigate the danger.<\/p>\n What is behind the rise<\/strong>?<\/p>\n Two alarming trends lie behind the rise of NFS or choking during sex, experts say.<\/p>\n First: the massive increase in young people\u2019s exposure to online pornography. A 2023 study by the children\u2019s commissioner showed the average age a child first saw pornography is 13 \u2013 an alarming statistic. But it\u2019s important to note many access pornography far younger than that, before they are old enough to begin to understand what they are seeing.<\/p>\n Second: depictions of choking or NFS in pornography have become more common. Twenty years ago, research on pornography found virtually no depictions of it; this summer, the children\u2019s commissioner revealed 58% of young people had seen strangulation in pornography. <\/em>Like it or not, pornography has become today\u2019s sex education.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a teenager, you\u2019d see porn in magazines, but it is incomparable with the online stuff you get now,\u201d Anna Moore says. \u201cNow, you can click on to the next thing and the next thing. There is so much evidence about escalation. Young people are seeing i<\/strong>llegal sexual activities before they\u2019ve even kissed someone.\u201d Choking was recently made a specific offence in England and Wales, even if done consensually, as part of domestic abuse legislation.<\/p>\n When did choking become <\/strong>so common?<\/strong><\/p>\n Anna, who first wrote about the issue in a widely circulated piece in 2019, and again in 2025 said she was \u201csad\u201d but not surprised by this week\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first wrote about it, it was shocking, but in the years since, it\u2019s become far more acceptable. It seems it\u2019s a likely encounter, not a shocking encounter.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what young people do,\u201d Anna tells me. But, she says, if you \u201ckeep banging on about it, you\u2019re seen as a bit of a prude\u201d.<\/p>\n She told me she found one council-funded sex education presentation for Welsh secondary schoolchildren appeared to include \u201csafe\u201d choking advice, such as: \u201cIt is never OK to start choking someone without asking them first\u201d. The council has said it was part of a draft presentation that was never used after professional advice. <\/strong><\/p>\n The gender imbalance<\/strong><\/p>\n Most studies on strangulation have found a gender divide, with men mostly doing the choking and women being strangled. Men are being strangled too, sometimes by women but overwhelmingly by other men, although studies on the harm caused by choking concentrate on the impact on women.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation appears to be an outlier, suggesting both men and women are almost equally on the receiving end. About 47% men and 52% women had been choked, but men were considerably more likely to have carried it out.<\/p>\n I was struck by a quote from Jane Meyrick, a chartered health psychologist who leads work on sexual health at the University of the West of England, in Anna\u2019s piece from July. She told Anna: \u201cI\u2019ve had young people come to me in tears, young women saying, \u2018I don\u2019t want to be strangled\u2019 and young men saying, \u2018I don\u2019t want to do it\u2019 \u2026 but both watch porn where it\u2019s handed to them in an uncritical way, and there\u2019s an assumption that that\u2019s what has to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Anna said that, after her 2019 report, she heard one case where a young woman went back to her boyfriend and said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to do this awkward thing\u201d and her boyfriend said: \u201cI don\u2019t either, I thought you liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n What are the harms of NFS, and how do we address them?<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite advice easily found online, there is \u201cno safe way\u201d to do it. The neck, particularly in young women, is alarmingly fragile and blocking the jugular vein requires less pressure than opening a can of Coke.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve known for many year about the harms,\u201d academic Clare McGlynn tells me. \u201cIf you get dizziness and unconsciousness, you know and that might stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n Strangulation is now thought to be the second most common cause of stroke for women under 40. It can also lead to difficulties swallowing, incontinence, seizures, anxiety and miscarriage.<\/p>\n There are hidden harms too. Studies using MRI scans and blood tests, have shown long term damage caused by the practice.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat these are showing is that frequent sexual strangulation, which is four times a month, is impairing cognitive processing\u201d said McGlynn. \u201cIt\u2019s like memory loss [or] repeated concussion in sports, cumulative over time. And we don\u2019t know the long-term implications.\u201d<\/p>\n McGlynn and others working in the field would like to see a large-scale national campaign warning of the \u201cvery real risks\u201d, including strokes and brain damage.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Porn featuring strangulation or suffocation is due to be criminalised under Online Safety Act, and tech platforms must remove such material . The push to criminalise \u201cchoking\u201d in pornography follows the recommendations of a review by Baroness Bertin, published in February. She concluded that choking is \u201cthe starkest example of where online violent pornography has changed \u2018offline behaviour\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe law is very clear,\u201d says McGlynn. \u201cWith extreme online porn, the act will require companies to take the material down. It is going to be listed as a priority offence, which means they are supposed to prevent us encountering it and remove it swiftly.\u201d<\/p>\n The law was a \u201cwatershed\u201d moment, McGlynn says. Enforcement is the next step, but the omens are not good \u2013 pornography depicting rape is already illegal but, she says, still common on mainstream platforms.<\/p>\n <\/span>Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir Technologies.<\/span> Composite: Guardian Design; Kevin Dietsch;NurPhoto;Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/p>\n You may have read about the eccentric views of tech billionaire Peter Thiel, but his Palantir co-<\/strong>founder<\/strong> Alex Karp<\/strong> has gone under the radar. Steve Rose corrects that. Toby Moses, newsletters team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n What connects Tom Hardy, as Alfie in Peaky Blinders, Andrew Scott, the hot priest in Fleabag and Mike Ehrmantraut as underworld fixer in Breaking Bad? Michael Horgan celebrates 18 late but gamechanging characters<\/strong> who boosted later seasons of popular TV series. Karen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n I never had a console when the Sega Master System<\/strong> was churning out 1980s\u2019 classics like Golden Axe and OutRun, so could only glance jealously at friends and get glimpses of the impossible future of an arcade machine in their sitting room. Forty years on, Keith Stuart looks back on one of the early console success stories. Toby<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n This analysis by Tam Patachako looks at why the Congo basin<\/strong>, which is the second largest rainforest in the world, and one of it\u2019s most vital carbon sinks, has been largely forgotten when it comes to climate policy and funding. Karen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n If you thought the World Cup<\/strong> <\/strong>in Qatar was bad, Donald Trump says hold his Diet Coke. Marina Hyde looks forward to next year\u2019s US jamboree. Toby<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/span>England captain Ben Stokes at Perth Stadium.<\/span> Photograph: Gareth Copley\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Cricket<\/strong><\/em> | England hope to strike a balance between work and play at the start of this Ashes week: as Australia trained at the ground to prepare for the first Test, the tourists were being, well, tourists.<\/p>\n Football<\/strong><\/em> | Women\u2019s football coach Sarina Wiegman has defended promoting Hannah Hampton as England\u2019s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Mary Earps, saying she makes \u201cdecisions to win\u201d, after Earps criticised the head coach\u2019s move in her autobiography.<\/p>\n World Cup <\/strong><\/em>| Steve Clarke believes the Scotland support could \u201csmell magic\u201d before World Cup qualification was sealed in dramatic style with a 4-2 win against Denmark. Two stunning goals triggered euphoric scenes as the Scots secured a spot in the men\u2019s World Cup for the first time since 1998.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cAlarm as MI5 names China spy suspects targeting MPs\u201d says the Guardian <\/strong>on the espionage alert, while the FT<\/strong> has \u201cUK warns China against spying after MI5 highlights drive to influence MPs\u201d. Looking across the Atlantic, the Times<\/strong> runs with \u201cTrump: Prince knew nothing about murder\u201d. The Telegraph<\/strong> splashes on \u201cBritain not ready to defend invasion\u201d, the Mirror<\/strong> says \u201cFarage told me \u2018Hitler was right\u2019\u201d and top story at the Sun<\/strong> is \u201cKremlin Brit\u2019s \u2018war crimes\u2019\u201d. The i paper<\/strong> leads off with \u201cReeves privately tells Labour MPs: I\u2019ll hit wealthy with a mansion tax in Budget\u201d and the Mail<\/strong> has \u201cA few ill-advised remarks and a public school teacher who lost his job and life\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: PRU\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n When Shabana Mahmood gave a speech in parliament about her new immigration plans, for many it was shocking. But she received praise from unwelcome quarters. Tommy Robinson welcomed Labour\u2019s shift to the right: \u201cThe Overton window has been obliterated,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWell done patriots.\u201d Jessica Elgot <\/strong>explains why Mahmood\u2019s announcement has caused such consternation.<\/p>\n <\/span> Illustration: Ella Baron\/The Guardian<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span>Bhutan has a population of 750,000 people, about half of whom are subsistence farmers.<\/span> Photograph: Rui T Guedes\/Getty Images\/500px<\/p>\n As Cop30 nears its close, the landlocked country of Bhutan \u2013 population 750,000 \u2013 is getting attention for an ambitious climate pledge. It is aiming to reduce emissions across every sector of the economy.<\/p>\n As Nina Lakhani writes from Bel\u00e9m: \u201c[Bhutan is] boosting energy generation from hydro, solar, wind, distributed energy resource systems and piloting green hydrogen, as well as enhanced efficiency and regulations for transport, buildings and agriculture.\u201d Bhutan\u2019s prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, told the Guardian: \u201cFor us, gross national happiness is the goal, and GDP is just a tool which means economic growth cannot be detrimental to the happiness and wellbeing of our people.\u201d Cutting emissions is one way to do that.<\/p>\n Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n And finally, the Guardian\u2019s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Good morning. Yesterday, I was shocked to read that nearly half of sexually active under-18s have either been strangled or strangled someone during sex. \u201cChoking\u201d, as it is known, has become normalised in young people\u2019s sexual habits. A study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, part of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[498,1043,9558,37,4113,359,19503,6681,5379],"class_list":{"0":"post-34569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-among","9":"tag-briefing","10":"tag-common","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-sex","13":"tag-sexual","14":"tag-strangulation","15":"tag-teenagers","16":"tag-wednesday"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Five big stories<\/h2>\n
\n
In depth: \u2018It seems it\u2019s a likely encounter, not a shocking encounter\u2019<\/h2>\n
What else we\u2019ve been reading<\/h2>\n
\n
Sport<\/h2>\n
The front pages<\/h2>\n
Today in Focus<\/h2>\n
Is this Labour\u2019s hostile environment?<\/h2>\n
Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron<\/h2>\n
The Upside<\/h2>\n
Bored at work?<\/h2>\n